The Case of Brett Kavanaugh

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On June 27, 2018, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court after having served for 30 years. Thus, a seat was left open on the Supreme Court, the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. As is the right of the current president to nominate a Justice to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court, Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh on July 27, 2018.

Brett Kavanaugh served as a United States Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and as a staff lawyer for various offices of the United States government. From a legal standpoint, he leans towards the conservative side. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court of Justice began on September 4, 2018. As the Senate Judiciary Committee neared the end of the confirmation process, Kavanaugh faced allegations of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford. Dr. Ford, a professor of psychology, accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school, thirty-six years prior. Along with Dr. Ford, Kavanaugh faced allegations of sexual assault from two other women, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. Kavanaugh denied all allegations made against him.

As a result of these accusations, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed Kavanaugh’s confirmation to allow both Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh a chance to respond. On September 27, Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh were questioned by members of the Judiciary Committee. Both of their testimonies were filled with emotion as Dr. Ford held back tears when she testified that Brett Kavanaugh was 100% the man who had tried to sexually assault her years before, and Kavanaugh reacted angrily as he blatantly denied Ford’s allegations and yelled at those who were questioning him.

On September 28, the Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 to send Kavanaugh’s nomination to the floor, and also asked Trump to launch a full FBI investigation before the full Senate vote. On October 4, the findings of the FBI investigation were released to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the next day, October 5, the Senate voted 51-49 to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination. Then, on October 6, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court with a 50-48 vote, and later, on October 8, he participated in a ceremonial swearing in at the White House.